We know that many of you are excited about the WoW pet battles coming in Mists of Pandaria. Well, we’ve got a fun new contest that’s chock-full of companion combat, plus some incredible prizes for all you pet lovers!

In anticipation of MoP’s pet battle system, we’ve created a customizable Pet Battle Mini-Game! (Pet battles won’t actually work the way we’ve imagined them here — this is purely for fun.) This is a rock-paper-scissors game in which you’re randomly presented a pet; it’s up to you to choose which pet can defeat it.

To enter the contest, simply create your own pet battle. Once published, your pet battle will be available to everyone under the "More Pet Battles" section (newest battles appear first). Copy your pet battle's unique URL and paste it into a reply to this thread. Only one pet battle may be submitted per person.

NOTE: You may create and publish as many pet battles as you want for fun, but you can only enter one into the contest.

Creating Your Pet Battle:To create your pet battle correctly, you need to first pick three pets. Then enter how each pet beats the next. For example, if your three pets are Creepy Crate, Dark Whelpling and Armadillo Pup, you'd want to enter something like:

All participants must adhere to the following rules. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from the contest.

By entering the contest, you agree to comply with WarcraftPets’ official contest terms.

Your entry (your official reply to this thread) must be posted no later than 11:59 PM EDT, Tuesday January 31, 2012.

You may post only one pet battle to this thread. If you have multiple user accounts, choose one to post your official entry. Multiple entries by the same person will disqualify all entries.

To reply to this thread, you must have an active WarcraftPets account in good standing. Make sure the email address associated with your account is active and up-to-date. We’ll use your email address to contact you if you win.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If we discover that you’ve copied any portion of your entry from another pet battle, it will be disqualified. (Note that it's fine to use the same three pets that appear in other pet battles, but the win conditions must be different.)

Lastly, please limit this thread to official entries only. If you wish to share and discuss your pet battle, you may freely repost it in a new thread in the Pet Battles forum.

At the close of the contest, we’ll randomly select ten (10) entries. Our judges will then review those ten and choose a 1st place winner, 2nd place winner, and 3rd place winner. The seven others will receive a minor consolation prize (a common TCG loot code).

Our judges will choose the winners based on the following criteria:

Content: First and foremost, we’ll be judging your entry for originality and creativity. (Good grammar and proper spelling doesn’t hurt!) Your entry must also “make sense.” For example, if your battle says “Black Kingsnake swallows Mojo whole,” it makes sense. But if instead the Kingsnake breathes fire on Mojo, it wouldn’t make much sense (snakes don’t breathe fire and neither does this in-game companion).

Popularity: Each pet battle has a unique URL with a “LIKE” button on the page, making it perfect for sharing on Facebook! We encourage you to share your battle within your own Facebook feed and/or on our official Facebook page. Popularity will be determined by the number of “LIKES” your unique pet battle page receives. We understand that not everyone uses Facebook, so popularity will only factor into our decision in the case of a tie.

Rather than one grand prize and two lesser prizes, we have three AWESOME prize packages that every pet enthusiast will adore! Our first place winner will get first choice; second place gets second choice; third place will receive the remaining package.

Q: Can I edit my pet battle after I publish it?A: No, but you can delete it (as long as you’re logged in) and create a new pet battle. To delete it, locate its unique URL in the list of entries under "More Pet Battles" and click the red X to its left.

Q: Can I edit my post in the official contest thread?A: Yes, provided you edit it no later than 11:59 PM EDT, Tuesday January 31, 2012. So if you come up with a better idea for your pet battle, you can edit your post and replace your original link with the new link. But keep in mind… the longer your pet battle is online, the more “LIKES” it’s likely to receive.

Q: I don’t use Facebook. Can I still win?A: Absolutely. We’ll only be looking at the Facebook “LIKES” of your pet battle in the case of a tie. So sharing your link through Facebook may give you a slight edge, but it’s not required to win.

Q: Do I have to provide any personal information beyond my WarcraftPets account?A: If you win, we’ll contact you using the email address bound to your account. If we have to mail you your prize, you’ll be asked to reply with your full name and mailing address.